Thursday, August 25, 2011

What he said: Bruni, Bourdain and Paula






Interesting reading from the New York Times: Former restaurant reviewer (and now op-ed columnist) Frank Bruni joins in on the brouhaha over Tony Bourdain dissing Paula Deen.

Background: In a recent interview, Bourdain - who has been on a tear for the last few months, railing against everything from the James Beard Foundation to newspaper food writers - came out swinging against Paula Deen, calling her "the worst, most dangerous person in America" for the fat level of her food. Deen returned by noting that not everybody can afford the kind of high-art cuisine that Bourdain might prefer we all eat.

Bruni stepped up with some interesting thoughts on the elitist elements in the debate:

"When (Paula) Deen fries a chicken, many of us balk. When the Manhattan chefs David Chang or Andrew Carmellini do, we grovel for reservations and swoon over the homey exhilaration of it all. Her strips of bacon, skirting pancakes, represent heedless gluttony. Chang’s dominoes of pork belly, swaddled in an Asian bun, signify high art."

Want to read the rest? Here's the link.

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